Blackblade 22.0 - The Banishment of the Blackblades
After Osamu finished explaining the situation, Caelan pressed him for an alternative. He admitted that yes, the spell could be recast in its entirety, though it would require another five sacrifices and great speed, since it was taking all of Masumi's effort to keep the swords bound together, and there was no way she could last more than a week at best. It was noticed at this point that Osamu's sword was also gone, bound with the rest. Caelan asserted that he knew someone who would agree to help: a half-elf ranger with magical talent. Osamu admitted that he could easily arrange another tengu oracle and hobgoblin wizard or alchemist, and Ragoom himself volunteered to sacrifice himself. Broken Tusk, admitting the gravity of the situation, said that he might be able to find a druid to be the fifth sacrifice. It was agreed that everyone assembled would spread out and make the appropriate arrangements; Osamu, placing his hand on Ragoom, imparted the necessary knowledge of the ritual, trusted the teleportation rod, formerly Ko's, to Mako and left to arrange the tengu and hobgoblin martyrs. The remaining group, Caelan, Ragoom, Broken Tusk, Traveler and Mako, teleported into Miyagi City, where they dropped off Ragoom and cast a Sending to Vol to learn his location. He replied, saying that he had panicked and just teleported to the inn where Caelan had been staying while the others were in the Spirit Realm. Caelan, Mako and Broken Tusk teleported there, while Ragoom got an inn room in Miyagi. Caelan and Broken Tusk found Vol huddled under a tree not far from the inn. He was obviously distraught and confused; when approached by the pair, he voiced his thoughts. He had been told by Osamu the purpose of the circles and his role, and it frightened him, but at the same time, his conscience would not let him run away. Caelan tried to console him, telling him that it was alright and that everything was taken care of: Vol had nothing to worry about. This served to confuse the elf, and Broken Tusk explained more fully that it meant that five more people would have to be sacrificed in his place. Caelan was furious at the druid for putting the onus back on Vol, who was just as confused and unsure as before. The decision was placed at Vol's feet, much to Caelan's anger, and the two older men left Vol to his thoughts for the evening. The morning saw Vol fallen asleep under the tree. When he was approached, he said with a measure of certainty that he did not want to die, but he didn't deserve life more than anyone else. If five people could be found who wanted to die for the cause, then he would let them make their willing sacrifice; if they could not, if just one of them did not want to willingly part with life, then he would go back and finish his circle, because it was not fair for him to live over another unwilling martyr. Caelan swore that he would find five willing people. Finding Mako hanging out on the roof, they all teleported to the north, to a location Caelan knew. Finding themselves outside of a ramshackle hut in the woods, Caelan instructed everyone to wait outside while he went in. Vol recieved a Sending from Ragoom, asking if he could join him in Miyagi; Vol told Broken Tusk and teleported away. A heated argument broke out: Broken Tusk and Mako stood around as shouts and curses came from the hut. Eventually, Caelan came out again, and said that the inhabitent was willing to perform the ritual. Raito chose that moment to appear, hovering above them like a demonic insect. Everyone took up a combat stance, but the openness of the area and their foe's aerial advantage left them less than confident in their odds. Osamu teleported in to distract Raito as the three men on the ground teleported away, directing themselves to the western woods of the Northlands, where Broken Tusk hoped to find a druid. With the odds no longer distinctly in his favour, Raito vanished once more. Meanwhile, Vol met with Ragoom. Without explaining himself, Ragoom used Plane Shift on the pair of them, taking them to Heaven. They found themselves on a cliffside overlooking a calm, rolling ocean; Vol was a bit upset at being taken away, but the calming nature of the plane made it difficult to maintain any anger. Ragoom dug a small hole and buried the body of Susumo, which he had taken out of the basement room in Miyagi Castle. Then they sat and looked at the water for a while, time having lost all meaning. A serpentine creature, white and lizard-like, came flying overhead; when it noticed the two mortals, it came down to speak with them. It was friendly and personable, and Ragoom tried to explain that he was here to find Liartia in order to ask her help in an issue. The creature said that Liartia was everywhere, which made it hard to speak to her directly. Further explaining that he needed to know if there was a better way to seal the Black Blades, Ragoom implored for assistance. The being seemed compassionate, though it had no insight into the situation and seemed to not want to have much to do with the fickle, rigid mortal plane. It suggested that maybe an acquaintence might know something and offered to take them there. Climbing onto its back, Ragoom and Vol held on as it flew them away. Broken Tusk, using the hidden information system of the druids and the combined tracking skills of the party, found evidence of a druid who wandered the local area. It took them three days of concerted effort, before the trail led them to a tree containing a large, canny raccoon. Broken Tusk hailed it, and it climbed down and shifted easily into the form of an elder orc. The orc introduced himself as Kothaka; Broken Tusk explained the situation, and Kothaka agreed to assist. Osamu appeared and imparted the knowledge, and Kothaka shifted into the form of an owl and left. The martyrs had been chosen, and now it was only a matter of waiting. They all returned to Yeto. The scenery slowly changed as Ragoom and Vol flew, always to pleasant, peaceful terrains. As they rode, the pair began to fall deeper and deeper into a dazed contentment. Ragoom realized that this meant that they were dying, and, after thanking the creature, cast Plane Shift again. They landed on a Yeto road, not far from a city; Vol immediately collapsed from fatigue and hunger. Ragoom, unaffected by physical desires, picked him up and walked to the city. As he put the sleeping elf in an inn room, he learned that they were now in Tottori City, and had lost seven days. Ragoom went into a different room, and wrote his section of the ritual. He was the last to finish, and had caused a fair bit of stir when he couldn't be located. There had been no further sign of Raito, but it had become apparent that he was systematically robbing the wealthy elite of Yeto. With Ragoom's section completed by the end of the night, the final plan was put into action. Ragoom Sent to Raito, telling him that he had Takuetsu and would be outside of Tottori. At sunset, he walked out onto the road, alone. He stood tall, and began to yell to Raito, deriding him and scorning his lack of honour. Raito, who had teleported in nearby, attempted to summon his sword and failed, revealing Ragoom's statement to be a lie. However, the insults that came from Ragoom dug under his skin, and he found he could not ignore this affront. Meanwhile, the others had gathered in the basement room in Miyagi Castle. The other four martyrs had already completed their parts in full: the ritual waited on Ragoom. Everyone was prepared for combat; Masumi, obviously strained and drawn, stood with the swords while Osamu waited on the threshold. Raito, invisible, stole up behind Ragoom. With a single swing of a stolen sword, Raito executed Ragoom on the road. The ritual triggered, and Osamu took the swords through the resultant portal while Masumi teleported away with the last ounce of her strength. Almost immediately, Raito teleported to the room to find the remaining men standing against him. He cast Slow upon the party, crippling Caelan and Mako. Broken Tusk, in the form of a mastodon, stood beside his partner Traveler, and the two elephants began to assault the devil with their tusks. Mako attempted to fight despite the crippling effect of the spell while Caelan held back, hard-pressed in his condition to harm the flying monstrosity they faced. Osamu returned from Hell, the Blackblades gone, and joined the fray. He Commanded Raito to the ground where the others could more easily attack him. In response, he used his magic to dash across the room and assault Caelan. Defenseless against the barrage, Caelan was ravaged by Raito's sword and lightning. He fell, dead before he hit the ground. Everyone moved into position again, and Osamu, frustrated and angry, grabbed his opponent and used his life-draining ability, forcing Raito to kiss him repeatedly, becoming weaker each time. The two mastodons continued their assault on the grappled opponent while Mako limped into position. Eventually Raito broke free of Osamu, only to be grabbed by Mako in turn. Unhindered as Mako was, Osamu took the opportunity presented by the pinned foe. Taking up his sword, Osamu drove it through Raito, his demonic body evaporating as it returned to Hell. In the silence that followed, Broken Tusk returned to his human form. There was no pleasure or triumph in their success: the toll had been too high. Osamu formally thanked him for his help, and offered any reward the druid wished. He refused, for this had been a task that needed to be done, and as long as the lord would act kindly towards any druids that he might meet, that would be enough. Mako shunned Broken Tusk's efforts to take Caelan's body: he would take him back to Gaivoutna, as a soldier. The druid agreed to this, and with that, he took his ever-present partner and left to tell the tale of what had happened. As the only surviving member of the group following the battle, Broken Tusk went back to Vol to tell him what happened. They contacted Ridley via Sending, who also managed to contact Yomiel; the four of them met up, and Broken Tusk told his tale again. Ridley and Yomiel, being cynical people who had little hope for anyone’s survival to begin with, were not particularly surprised at the deaths, though Ridley showed some melancholy and Yomiel managed the proper sombre respect for the fallen. Broken Tusk adopted Kalyanda, Ragoom’s young drake, while Vol insisted that he look after Bjarte in place of Caelan. The druid offered his assistance to the young elf, but he declined; people had died so that he could live, so he was going to live his life without help, without anyone making decisions for him again. He was certain that he knew enough to get by, and resisted the druid’s attempts to insist. Ridley, for his part, took a different tack: when Vol said that he should take care of Kirsikka as well, he argued. In his calm, manipulative way, he insisted that he should keep Kirsikka, as she obviously liked him the best, but that Vol would have to show him how to properly take care of her and such, cleverly getting him to agree to allow Ridley to stay with him. When this was decided, Broken Tusk ceded to Vol’s argument, promised to visit, and set off with Traveler and the two drakes, bound for the wilderness again. Vol determined to wander Yeto for awhile, in order to find a place he could call home; Ridley consented to follow, as his boots allowed him as much freedom to pop in and out as he could want. As they started walking, they noticed that Yomiel, who had been quietly hanging about, followed awkwardly after; he mumbled something about not having anywhere better to go, nothing else important to report, and having 26 years to waste before he could go home. Ridley told him to not lag behind. Category:Banishment of the Blackblades